New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Toddler Sleep

My toddler believes he’s a bakery worker.

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New Zealand's Top Mummy Blogger Parenting Travel Blog Family Toddler Sleep

I mean he must.

There is no other reason why he would be waking every day at 3.50am but to get some buns in the oven, maybe rustle up some mince and cheese pies or get his eclairs ready for the glass cabinet.  Lord knows the Jack boys love pies.

I spent $79 dollars today on a fancy clock that people swear by for sleep training.  Pick your jaw off the floor, a blogger who PAID for something?!  The earth has indeed tilted on its axis and I’m sure it’s Nixon’s fault.

A couple of months ago when we were facing the same problem I implemented all of the advice you guys gave me;

  • Maybe he’s getting cold?  Heater in his room with thermostat on all night.
  • Try a little bit earlier.  Tried this.
  • Try a little bit later.  Tried this under duress – when your Nixon-day begins prior to 4am a later bedtime is not ‘quality’ family time.  Rather, it consists of violent pajama protests and torturous OCD screaming about which order he takes his vitamins.
  • Lavender.  Tried it.
  • No nap?  Sleep aversion is a lifestyle choice for Nixon, he spits in the face of a daytime nap.
  • Cry it out.  Love it.  But the child is about 100db too loud to let him have at it.  He also has an 11 year old brother who is  only *slightly* better at sleeping in then Nixon and I sure as hell don’t need both of them up in the dark cold hours searching for their damn iPads in the dark!

I can’t remember what else we’ve tried because I’m TOO DAMN TIRED.

Nix is also full of a cold and hacking up phlegm (again) so the odds are not (never?) in our favour of a good night’s sleep tonight.


Nix had a fever of 38.2 so we Pamol’d before bed and that probably helped him to set a new August sleep record – 5.45am!!!  I feel like a new woman!  I had set the magical sleep clock to 6am and explained how it worked so when he woke, I took Nix back to his room and we waited until the sun came up.  Small victories I guess.

Some people have ‘No sleepers’ and this is torturous.  Trying and trying to get your kid to fall asleep for the night is an agonizing exercise requiring you to forget absolutely everything else you need to do and simply switch off, lay down like the corpse-mother you probably feel like and give in to chubby arms around your neck.  Nixon will go to sleep at night so bedtimes are sometimes drawn out, but not too cringeworthy.  His/our problem is that when he wakes, whenever that may be, HE WAKES.  That’s it.  No more sleep for anyone.

Basically, it all sucks.  Whichever style of problem sleeper you have, the Sleep-Denyer, the Wake-All-Night, the Early Riser……..it’s hard for everyone involved, kids included.

I’ve just finished my first double coffee of the day and I raise my mug to you mama’s – May you coffee be strong and your nap times long xx

 

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